Volumetric resistance blower apparatus and system

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments of an apparatus and system are described for a volumetric resistance blower. An apparatus may comprise a motor, a rotor comprising a cylindrical foam block, and a casing having one or more inlets arranged in an axial direction of the rotor and one or more outlets arranged in a radial direction of the rotor. Other embodiments are described.

BACKGROUND

Modern computing systems generate heat during operation. The heat mayaffect certain platform components of a system, and is thereforegenerally required to be dissipated or removed from the system. Heatgenerated by the computing system may be limited or reduced usingvarious thermal management techniques and/or heat dissipationtechniques. For example, heat generated by a processor may be dissipatedby creating a flow of air using a fan or blower. Further, variousplatform-level cooling devices may be implemented in conjunction withthe fan or blower to enhance heat dissipation, such as heat pipes, heatspreaders, heat sinks, vents, phase change materials or liquid-basedcoolants.

Traditional blowers used in portable computing systems may generateflows of air to remove or dissipate heat, but they also generate highlevels of noise. This may be problematic in notebook computers, forexample, because ergonomic acoustic limits may be low to ensure asatisfactory user experience. Because of the ergonomic acoustic limitsand other restrictions, the cooling capacity of traditional systems maybe thermally limited because standard blowers may not be allowed to runat their maximum speed, resulting in reduced efficiency for the blowerand reduced cooling capacity for the system. Consequently, a need existsfor improved cooling techniques for notebook computers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of a first apparatus.

FIG. 1B illustrates one embodiment of a second apparatus.

FIG. 1C illustrates one embodiment of third apparatus.

FIG. 2A illustrates one embodiment of a fourth apparatus.

FIG. 2B illustrates one embodiment of a fifth apparatus.

FIG. 2C illustrates one embodiment of a sixth apparatus.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a seventh apparatus.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a first system.

FIG. 5A illustrates one embodiment of a first graph.

FIG. 5B illustrates one embodiment of a second graph.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a second system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments are generally directed to techniques designed to improvecooling in computing systems. Various embodiments provide techniquesthat include a volumetric resistance blower that includes a cylindricalrotor comprising or having foam material or one or more cylindrical foamblocks. Replacing a traditional blade-based rotor with a cylindricalrotor comprising or having foam material or one or more cylindrical foamblocks in a volumetric resistance blower may reduce blower acousticlevels at a given airflow allowing for improved platform thermalperformance under all workloads, improved cooling capabilities,increased system performance and improved acoustics. Other embodimentsare described and claimed.

In various embodiments, traditional computing system blowers include arotor having a plurality of fins or blades. These blade-based rotors,while capable of moving air, generate an undesirable amount of noise.Because of the amount of noise generated, system designers are oftenrequired to limit the speed at which traditional blowers are allowed tooperate. For example, traditional blowers are often restricted fromoperating at their maximum speed because the noise generated by theblade-based rotors at this and other high speeds exceeds an establishedergonomic acoustic limit (e.g., an allowable amount of noise generatedby the system). As a result, other measures are often taken by thesystem to preventing overheating, such as processor throttling, whichmay be equally undesirable. Consequently, a need exists for improvedtechniques for computing system cooling.

Embodiments may include one or more elements. An element may compriseany structure arranged to perform certain operations. Each element maybe implemented as hardware, software, or any combination thereof, asdesired for a given set of design parameters or performance constraints.Although embodiments may be described with particular elements incertain arrangements by way of example, embodiments may include othercombinations of elements in alternate arrangements.

It is worthy to note that any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrases “in oneembodiment” and “in an embodiment” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

In various embodiments, the rotor described herein may comprise acylindrical rotor comprising or having foam material or one or morecylindrical foam blocks. While some embodiments refer to a cylindricalfoam block rotor, it should be understood that the rotor may comprise orinclude support materials, dividers, or one or more pieces of foam orother suitable porous material and still fall within the describedembodiments. Reference is made herein to a cylindrical foam block rotorfor purposes of illustration and not limitation. As such, theembodiments are not limited in this respect.

FIG. 1A illustrates an apparatus 100. Apparatus 100 may comprise avolumetric resistance blower (VRB) 100 in some embodiments. As shown inFIG. 1A, VRB 100 may include a plurality of components, such as motor orhub 102, rotor 104, casing 106, inlet 108 and outlet 110. Theembodiments are not limited to the number, type or arrangement ofcomponents shown in FIG. 1A. Various embodiments described herein referto a dual-input, single output blower as shown in FIG. 1A. Theembodiments are not limited in this context. One skilled in the art willappreciate that any suitable arrangement for VRB 100 could be used andstill fall within the described embodiments.

Motor and/or hub 102 may comprise any suitable electric motor,mechanically driven engine, heat engine or aerodynamically driven motorcapable of rotating rotor 104 to create a flow of air in someembodiments and/or a hub or other support structure arranged to supportrotor 104 and to couple the cylindrical foam block rotor 104 to themotor 102. In various embodiments, motor and/or hub 102 may comprise anAC motor, brushed DC motor or brushless DC motor. For example, motor 102may comprise a DC motor powered by an internal or external power sourceof apparatus 100. The size and location of motor and/or hub 102 may beselected based on the size and performance constraints of a particularimplementation of VRB 100.

Casing 106 may comprise a housing or enclosure arranged to mount orotherwise contain or stabilize a motor and/or hub 102 and rotor 104 insome embodiments. In various embodiments, casing 106 may comprise aplastic or metal component configured with one or more inlets 108 andone or more outlets 110. For example, the casing 106 may include a topinlet 108, a bottom inlet (not shown) opposite the top inlet 108 and anoutlet 110. In various embodiments, the inlets 108 may be arranged in anaxial direction of the rotor 104 and the outlet 110 may be arranged in aradial direction of the rotor 104. In various embodiments the casing mayinclude more than one outlet to enable, for example, a dual outletconfiguration. In some embodiments, the casing 106 may comprise aplastic component, such as an injection molded plastic component, thatprovides an inlet, outlet and flow management features for the VRB 100.While various embodiments described herein include a casing 106, itshould be understood that some embodiments may comprise a case-lessblower in which no surrounding case is used and an airflow may exitthrough the rotor in a full 360 degrees. Other embodiments are describedand claimed.

In various embodiments, VRB 100 includes rotor 104. Rotor 104 may bearranged to increase the pressure and/or flow of air for VRB 100 in someembodiments. Rotor 104 may be any size or shape suitable for inducingthe flow of air. In some embodiments, rotor 104 may comprise acylindrical foam block rotor 104 which may comprise a cylindrical rotorcomprising or having foam material or one or more cylindrical foamblocks that make up a substantial portion of the rotor. For example,multiple foam portions or portions of another suitable material may becoupled to motor and/or hub 102 in a pie configuration or multiplelayers of foam or other suitable material may be coupled or layeredtogether to form the rotor. In some embodiments, one or more differentmaterials may be used to form the rotor 104 and still fall within thedescribed embodiments. Cylindrical foam block rotor 104 is described inmore detail with reference to FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1B illustrates an apparatus 120 that may be the same or similar toapparatus 100 of FIG. 1A, where like elements are similarly numbered.For example, apparatus 120 may comprise a view of a VRB 120 in which atop portion of casing 106 is removed to reveal cylindrical foam blockrotor 104. While referred to herein as a cylindrical foam block rotor104, it should be understood that the rotor 104 could comprise suitablematerial including but not limited to foam and still fall within thedescribed embodiments. For example, rotor 104 may comprise any suitableporous material in various embodiments. The embodiments are not limitedin this context.

As shown in FIG. 1B, cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may be a circulardisc that is secured to motor and/or hub 102 in some embodiments. Forexample, cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may include an outer radius105 and an inner radius 107, where the outer radius comprises theperimeter of the cylindrical foam block rotor 104 and the inner radius107 comprises an opening to accommodate and/or secure the cylindricalfoam block rotor 104 to the motor and/or hub 102. In some embodiments,the inner radius 107 is selected to coincide with a radius of the motorand/or hub 102.

FIG. 1C illustrates an apparatus 140 that may be the same or similar toapparatus 100 of FIG. 1A and apparatus 120 of FIG. 1B, where likeelements are similarly numbered. For example, apparatus 150 may compriseanother view of a VRB 140 in which a top portion of casing 106 isremoved to reveal cylindrical foam block rotor 104.

In some embodiments, FIG. 1C may more clearly illustrate the porosity ofcylindrical foam block rotor 104. Cylindrical foam block rotor 104 maycomprise or be composed of any suitable material having porosity capableof generating a flow of air in VRB 140. Porosity or void fraction maycomprise a measure of the void or empty spaces in a material, and is afraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0-1, oras a percentage between 0-100%. In various embodiments, the cylindricalfoam block rotor 104 may comprise a material selected to have between 10pores per inch (ppi) and 100 ppi. Other embodiments are described andclaimed.

In some embodiments, cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may comprise asolid foam material. Solid foams may comprise an important class oflightweight cellular engineering materials. In various embodiments,these foams can be classified into two types based on their porestructure: open-cell-structured foams (also known as reticulated foams)and closed-cell foams. Cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may comprise anopen-cell-structured foam material in some embodiments.

In various embodiments, open-cell-structured foams contain pores thatare connected to each other and form an interconnected network that isrelatively soft. Open-cell foams will fill with whatever they aresurrounded with in some embodiments. For example, open-cell foam may befilled with air. In various embodiments, cylindrical foam block rotor104 may be spun by motor and/or hub 102, resulting in the cylindricalfoam block rotor 104 creating a volumetric resistance inside the casing106. In some embodiments, the volumetric resistance may to cause a flowof air to be drawn into the one or more inlets 108 and out of the outlet110. In some embodiments, cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may bearranged to pump water or other materials. The embodiments are notlimited in this respect.

The cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may be arranged to generate acentrifugal force that causes a flow of air to flow through thecylindrical foam block rotor 104 in some embodiments. For example, theopen-cell-structured foam material of cylindrical foam block rotor 104may allow for air to fill the open cells and to pass through thecylindrical foam block rotor 104 in some embodiments. Other embodimentsare described and claimed.

FIGS. 2A illustrates an apparatus 200 and FIG. 2B illustrations anapparatus 220 that may be the same or similar to cylindrical foam blockrotor 104 of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, where like elements aresimilarly numbered. For example, apparatus 200 and apparatus 220 maycomprise different views of cylindrical foam block rotor 104 in whichcylindrical foam block rotor 104 has been removed from casing 106 toreveal additional details. For example, FIG. 2A may comprise a top downview and FIG. 2B may comprise a side view.

As shown in FIG. 2A, cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may comprise acircular shape having a substantially contiguous radius 226 in someembodiments. In various embodiments, the substantially contiguous radius226 may comprise a flat or smooth edge that forms the outer perimeter ofcylindrical foam block rotor 104. While shown as a substantially flatradial surface 226 in FIG. 2B, it should be understood that the edges orcorners of the radial surface may be rounded or otherwise shaped to formcylindrical foam block rotor 104 and still fall within the describedembodiments.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, cylindrical foam blockrotor 104 may comprise a substantially flat top surface 222 having noblades or fins and a substantially flat bottom surface 224 having noblades or fins. Unlike traditional blade-based rotors, cylindrical foamblock rotor 104 may comprise substantially flat surfaces that produceless acoustic noise than rotors having discontinuities like blades andfins. The embodiments are not limited in this respect.

FIGS. 2C illustrates an apparatus 240 that may be the same or similar tocylindrical foam block rotor 104 of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 2Aand FIG. 2B, where like elements are similarly numbered. In someembodiments, apparatus 240 may comprise the cylindrical foam block rotor104 having one or more internal dividers 242 arranged to preventazimuthal circulation inside the cylindrical foam block rotor 104. Invarious embodiments, the porous composition of cylindrical foam blockrotor 104 may allow for air to enter the pores or open cells ofcylindrical foam block rotor 104 that, when spun, may result in integralcirculation of the air which may result in reduced efficiencies for thecylindrical foam block rotor 104. To combat this problem, internaldividers 242 may be arranged inside cylindrical foam block rotor 104.

In some embodiments, internal dividers 242 may comprise plastic ormetals arms extending from hub 102 to create chambers in the cylindricalfoam block rotor 104 that reduce any azimuthal circulation. In otherembodiments, internal dividers 242 may be arranged as or similar tostandard rotor blades or fins. In these embodiments, the foam or othermaterial used to form cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may be formed orarranged around the blades or fins. For example, a traditionalblade-based rotor may be covered in a foam or other suitable material toform cylindrical foam block rotor 104, where the traditional rotorprovides the structural support and rigidity for the cylindrical foamblock rotor 104. While a limited number and arrangement of internaldividers 242 are shown in FIG. 2C, it should be understood that anynumber, type or arrangement of internal dividers 242 could be used andstill fall within the described embodiments. As such, other embodimentsare described and claimed.

In various embodiments, cylindrical foam block rotor 104 may include anon-uniform pore density. For example, the one or more dividers 242 maybe formed using dense subsections of foam with a much high pores perinch (ppi) than the remaining portions of cylindrical foam block rotor104. In some embodiments the pore gradient in the radial direction couldalso be varied. Performance may be improved by using denser foam towardsthe outer radius of the blower in various embodiments. Other embodimentsare described and claimed.

FIGS. 3 illustrates an apparatus 300 that may be the same or similar toVRB 100 of FIG. 1A, 120 of FIG. 1B or 140 of FIG. 1C where like elementsare similarly numbered. In some embodiments, VRB 300 may include motorand/or hub 102, cylindrical foam block rotor 104, casing 106 and one ormore grooves, ribs or brushes 302 arranged as part of a top portion or abottom portion of casing 106. In various embodiments, VRB 300 maycomprise a view from the perspective of the outlet 110. The embodimentsare not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the one or more grooves, ribs or brushes 302 may bearranged to remove contaminants from the cylindrical foam block rotor104. For example, dust or other contaminants may collect on thesubstantially flat surfaces of cylindrical foam block rotor 104. Thesecontaminants may reduce the efficiency of cylindrical foam block rotor104 and VRB 300 in some embodiments and, therefore, should be removed.

The one or more grooves, ribs or brushes 302 may comprise grooves thatare formed as part of a top or bottom portion of the casing 106 in someembodiments. For example, the grooves may be arranged in close proximityto cylindrical foam block rotor 104 when cylindrical foam block rotor104 is clean (e.g. free of a dust or other contaminant layer). In thismanner, as the dust or other contaminants collect on cylindrical foamblock rotor 104, the thickness of cylindrical foam block rotor 104 mayincrease resulting in the dust or other contaminants coming in contactwith the grooves 302 that scrape and remove the dust from thecylindrical foam block rotor 104. While described in terms of grooves302 formed as part of casing 106, it should be understood that anysuitable shape, size or arrangement for grooves, ribs or brushes 302could be used and still fall within the described embodiments. Forexample, in some embodiments brushes may be affixed inside casing 106 inclose proximity to cylindrical foam block rotor 104. Other embodimentsare described and claimed.

FIG. 4 illustrations one embodiment of a computing system 400. Invarious embodiments, computing system 400 may comprise a computingdevice such as a laptop or notebook computer. As shown in FIG. 4,computing device 400 may include a VRB 402, one or more heat generatingcomponents 404, one or more input devices 406, an enclosure 408 and adisplay 410. While shown in the form of a laptop or notebook computer,it should be understood that the embodiments are not limited in thisrespect. For example, in some embodiments computing system 400 maycomprise a tablet computer, netbook computer, desktop computer,all-in-one (AIO) computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), smartphone,multimedia player or any other suitable device. The computing system 400is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6.

While shown and described in conjunction with a computer device invarious embodiments, it should be understood that the VRB describedherein could be used in any suitable device that requires air to bemoved. For example, the VRB described herein may be used in HeatingVentilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, automotive cooling,desk fans or any other suitable application. Many of these additionalusage scenarios include acoustic constraints which may benefit from theimplementation of a VRB as described herein. Other embodiments aredescribed and claimed.

In various embodiments, the VRB 402 may be the same or similar to theVRB described above with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and 3. In someembodiments the VRB 402 may include a cylindrical foam block rotor 104and the VRB 402 may be arranged to remove heat generated insideenclosure 408. For the example, the one or more heat generatingcomponents 404 may comprise a processor, memory or other device thatgenerates heat during operation. VRB 402 maybe arranged to remove thisheat from system 400 in some embodiments. Other embodiments aredescribed and claimed.

While VRB 402 of FIG. 4 is arranged with its outlet facing in thedirection of a user of the system 400, it should be understood that theembodiments are not limited in this respect. For example, VRB 402 may bearranged to provide a rear or side exhaust for the computing system 400.In various embodiments, providing a rear or side exhaust by VRB 402 mayavoid a flow of warm air being directed towards a user of the system400. Additionally, acoustic benefits may be realized through the use ofa side or rear exhaust. For example, arranging the outlet of VRB 402 ina direction away from a user of the system 400 may reduce the noise thatis audible to the user. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

The above-described embodiments may be used to improve airflow incomputing systems. Some embodiments may improve the acoustic performanceof computing systems, which may result in an improved user experience.Other embodiments are described and claimed.

In various embodiments, use of any of the above-described VRBs in acomputing system may result in enhanced cooling capability at a constantiso-acoustic level compared to traditional cooling methods that rely onblade-based blowers that have discontinuities that generate anundesirable amount of noise during operation. For example, FIG. 5Aillustrates an iso-acoustic comparison for a traditional blade-basedrotor (e.g. stock rotor) and a VRB, such as any of the above-describedembodiments of a VRB. As shown in FIG. 5A, substantial improvements inboth pressure and flow can be achieved through the use of a VRB.

In various embodiments, traditional blade-based rotors may generateblade pass tones created as a blade pass an obstruction or other objectinside a blower casing. For example, as the blades of a traditionalrotor pass by a cut-water in the casing, resulting in a repeating tonethat at high speeds sounds to a user like a continuous, annoying hum.This may be undesirable from a design and ergonomic perspective. As aresult, some blade-based rotor systems are designed to allow a gapbetween the rotor and the cut-water, which reduces the efficiency of theblower. In various embodiments, use of a VRB as described herein mayallow for the arrangement of the cylindrical foam based rotor 104 inclose proximity to the cut-water and other obstructions because thecylindrical foam based rotor 104 does not include blades that wouldgenerate blade pass tones. By reducing the space between the cylindricalfoam block rotor 104 and the cut-water of the casing, the efficiency ofthe VRB can be significantly improved.

In various embodiments, the lack of blades on a cylindrical foam blockrotor 104 as described herein may allow for higher rotor speeds at thesame acoustic noise level of a traditional blade-based rotor. Testinghas indicated that as much as a 20%-30% iso-acoustic flow improvementcan be achieved using a cylindrical foam block rotor 104 in place of atraditional blade-based rotor.

FIG. 5B includes two graphs showing the acoustic performance of a stockrotor (e.g. blade-based rotor) and a VRB as described herein. As shownin FIG. 5B, the cylindrical foam block rotor of the VRB may be arrangedto generate low iso-acoustic noise or interference compared to atraditional or stock blade-based rotor. For example, the spikes presentin the middle-right portion of the stock rotor graph may be caused byblades passing by the cut-water of the casing. This may occur throughoutthe 500-5000 Hz range that may be particularly sensitive to humanhearing. As a result, these acoustic disturbances may be particularlytroubling to human users.

The VRB graph shown in FIG. 5B, however, shows fewer spikes and a moreuniform spectrum. The spectrum of the VRB would, in some embodiments, beless annoying or bothersome to a user and have an improved sound qualitywhen compared to that of the stock rotor. Because humans are sensitiveto tone and to pitch, the improved sound quality of the VRB may resultin psychoacoustic benefits not realized by traditional or stockblade-based rotors. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an exemplary system embodiment. In particular,FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a system 600, which may include variouselements. For instance, FIG. 6 shows that system 600 may include aprocessor 602, a chipset 604, an input/output (I/O) device 606, a randomaccess memory (RAM) (such as dynamic RAM (DRAM)) 608, and a read onlymemory (ROM) 610, and various platform components 614 (e.g., a fan, acrossflow blower, a heat sink, DTM system, cooling system, housing,vents, and so forth). These elements may be implemented in hardware,software, firmware, or any combination thereof. The embodiments,however, are not limited to these elements.

In particular, the platform components 614 may include a cooling systemimplementing various VRB techniques. The cooling system may be sized forthe system 600, and may include any cooling elements designed to performheat dissipation, such as heat pipes, heat links, heat transfers, heatspreaders, vents, fans, blowers, crossflow blowers and liquid-basedcoolants.

As shown in FIG. 6, I/O device 606, RAM 608, and ROM 610 are coupled toprocessor 602 by way of chipset 604. Chipset 604 may be coupled toprocessor 602 by a bus 612. Accordingly, bus 612 may include multiplelines.

Processor 602 may be a central processing unit comprising one or moreprocessor cores and may include any number of processors having anynumber of processor cores. The processor 602 may include any type ofprocessing unit, such as, for example, CPU, multi-processing unit, areduced instruction set computer (RISC), a processor that have apipeline, a complex instruction set computer (CISC), digital signalprocessor (DSP), and so forth.

Although not shown, the system 600 may include various interfacecircuits, such as an Ethernet interface and/or a Universal Serial Bus(USB) interface, and/or the like. In some exemplary embodiments, the I/Odevice 606 may comprise one or more input devices connected to interfacecircuits for entering data and commands into the system 600. Forexample, the input devices may include a keyboard, mouse, touch screen,track pad, track ball, isopoint, a voice recognition system, and/or thelike. Similarly, the I/O device 606 may comprise one or more outputdevices connected to the interface circuits for outputting informationto an operator. For example, the output devices may include one or moredisplays, printers, speakers, and/or other output devices, if desired.For example, one of the output devices may be a display. The display maybe a cathode ray tube (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), or anyother type of display.

The system 600 may also have a wired or wireless network interface toexchange data with other devices via a connection to a network. Thenetwork connection may be any type of network connection, such as anEthernet connection, digital subscriber line (DSL), telephone line,coaxial cable, etc. The network may be any type of network, such as theInternet, a telephone network, a cable network, a wireless network, apacket-switched network, a circuit-switched network, and/or the like.

Numerous specific details have been set forth herein to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-knownoperations, components and circuits have not been described in detail soas not to obscure the embodiments. It can be appreciated that thespecific structural and functional details disclosed herein may berepresentative and do not necessarily limit the scope of theembodiments.

Various embodiments may be implemented using hardware elements, softwareelements, or a combination of both. Examples of hardware elements mayinclude processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g.,transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integratedcircuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmablelogic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmablegate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips,microchips, chip sets, and so forth. Examples of software may includesoftware components, programs, applications, computer programs,application programs, system programs, machine programs, operatingsystem software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines,subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces,application program interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code,computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values,symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodimentis implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may varyin accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computationalrate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input datarates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and otherdesign or performance constraints.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. These terms are not intendedas synonyms for each other. For example, some embodiments may bedescribed using the terms “connected” and/or “coupled” to indicate thattwo or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact witheach other. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two or moreelements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet stillco-operate or interact with each other.

Some embodiments may be implemented, for example, using amachine-readable or computer-readable medium or article which may storean instruction, a set of instructions or computer executable code that,if executed by a machine or processor, may cause the machine orprocessor to perform a method and/or operations in accordance with theembodiments. Such a machine may include, for example, any suitableprocessing platform, computing platform, computing device, processingdevice, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, or thelike, and may be implemented using any suitable combination of hardwareand/or software. The machine-readable medium or article may include, forexample, any suitable type of memory unit, memory device, memoryarticle, memory medium, storage device, storage article, storage mediumand/or storage unit, for example, memory, removable or non-removablemedia, erasable or non-erasable media, writeable or re-writeable media,digital or analog media, hard disk, floppy disk, Compact Disk Read OnlyMemory (CD-ROM), Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R), Compact DiskRewriteable (CD-RW), optical disk, magnetic media, magneto-opticalmedia, removable memory cards or disks, various types of DigitalVersatile Disk (DVD), a tape, a cassette, or the like. The instructionsmay include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiledcode, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code,encrypted code, and the like, implemented using any suitable high-level,low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpretedprogramming language.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that termssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or thelike, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computingsystem, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and/ortransforms data represented as physical quantities (e.g., electronic)within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other datasimilarly represented as physical quantities within the computingsystem's memories, registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

It should be noted that the methods described herein do not have to beexecuted in the order described, or in any particular order. Moreover,various activities described with respect to the methods identifiedherein can be executed in serial or parallel fashion.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodimentsshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments. It is to be understood that the abovedescription has been made in an illustrative fashion, and not arestrictive one. Combinations of the above embodiments, and otherembodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to thoseof skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Thus, thescope of various embodiments includes any other applications in whichthe above compositions, structures, and methods are used.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided tocomply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allowthe reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used tointerpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, inthe foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various featuresare grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter that lies inless than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment.In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used asthe plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and“wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and“third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to imposenumerical requirements on their objects.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

1. A blower, comprising a motor; a cylindrical rotor comprising orhaving foam material or one or more cylindrical foam blocks; and acasing having one or more inlets and one or more outlets.
 2. The blowerof claim 1, the one or more inlets arranged in an axial direction of therotor and the one or more outlets arranged in a radial direction of therotor.
 3. The blower of claim 1, the rotor arranged to create avolumetric resistance inside the casing, the volumetric resistance tocause a flow of air to be drawn into the one or more inlets and out ofthe one or more outlets.
 4. The blower of claim 1, the rotor arranged togenerate a centrifugal force to cause a flow of air to flow through thecylindrical foam material or one or more cylindrical foam blocks.
 5. Theblower of claim 1, the rotor comprising a substantially flat topsurface, a substantially flat bottom surface and a substantiallycontiguous radial surface.
 6. The blower of claim 1, the rotorcomprising a material having between 10 pores per inch (ppi) and 100ppi.
 7. The blower of claim 1, the rotor having one or more internaldividers arranged to prevent azimuthal circulation inside thecylindrical foam material or one or more cylindrical foam blocks.
 8. Theblower of claim 1, comprising: a hub arranged to support the rotor andto couple the rotor to the motor.
 9. The blower of claim 1, comprising:one or more grooves, ribs or brushes arranged as part of a top portionor a bottom portion of the casing.
 10. The blower of claim 9, the one ormore grooves, ribs or brushes arranged to remove contaminants from therotor.
 11. The blower of claim 1, the rotor arranged to generate lowiso-acoustic interference compared to a blade-based rotor.
 12. Acomputing system, comprising an enclosure; one or more heat generatingcomponents; and a blower arranged inside the enclosure, the blowercomprising a cylindrical rotor comprising or having foam material or oneor more cylindrical foam blocks.
 13. The computing system of claim 11,the blower comprising: a motor; a hub arranged to support the rotor andto couple the rotor to the motor; and a casing having one or more inletsarranged in an axial direction of the rotor and one or more outletsarranged in a radial direction of the rotor.
 14. The computing system ofclaim 13, the rotor arranged to create a volumetric resistance insidethe casing, the volumetric resistance to cause a flow of air to be drawninto the one or more inlets and out of the one or more outlets.
 15. Thecomputing system of claim 13, comprising: one or more grooves, ribs orbrushes arranged as part of a top portion or a bottom portion of thecasing.
 16. The computing system of claim 15, the one or more grooves,ribs or brushes arranged to remove contaminants from the rotor.
 17. Thecomputing system of claim 12, the rotor arranged to generate acentrifugal force to cause a flow of air to flow through the rotor. 18.The computing system of claim 12, the rotor comprising a substantiallyflat top surface, a substantially flat bottom surface and asubstantially contiguous radial surface.
 19. The computing system ofclaim 12, the rotor comprising a material having between 10 pores perinch (ppi) and 100 ppi.
 20. The computing system of claim 12, the rotorhaving one or more internal dividers arranged to prevent azimuthalcirculation inside the rotor.
 21. The computing system of claim 12, therotor arranged to generate low iso-acoustic interference for thecomputing system compared to a blade-based rotor.